Niaga® enters next phase in sustainable carpet technology

Successful tests on industrial scale with leading industry partners confirm that the Niaga® technology is ready for full scale implementation

Niaga® enables the carpet industry to close the carpet materials loop, allowing for 100% recycling and as much as 95% energy reduction during production

Next to being latex free, carpet made with Niaga® technology offers important performance benefits, such as being intrinsically flame retardant

Zwolle (NL), 16 January 2015 - Niaga® is taking its promise to close the materials loop in the carpet industry to the next level, following successful tests on industrial scale with leading partners in 2014 in the now fully operational Tech Center in Zwolle, the Netherlands. The joint venture offers a new perspective on the use of materials, enabling recovery of scarce resources, and providing the market with a unique sustainable carpet technology - the first to allow for complete recyclability.

Under the leadership of the newly appointed General Manager Josse Kunst, DSM-Niaga will focus on the further development and commercialization of the patented and proprietary technology for the carpet industry, as announced in June 2014.

Carpets based on DSM-Niaga’s innovative technology are fully recyclable, highlighting the company’s commitment to support the sustainability and environmental impact of the carpet industry. The combination of the Niaga® fiber binding technology and DSM’s engineered adhesive resin technology allows the manufacture of mono-material (polyester) and duo-material (polyester/polyamide) carpets with easy-to-separate layers. The technology provides the possibility to make waste obsolete, enabling the value chain to create and re-create raw materials from waste.

The exciting potential for the industry to use Niaga® technology and set a new standard is reinforced by successful testing of the environmental impact of carpet tiles and broadloom carpets based on the Niaga® technology. Life Cycle Assessments comparing Niaga® to conventional solutions show a reduction of the environmental impact of 40 to 65% throughout the full lifecycle. The Niaga® fiber binding technology also reduces the energy consumption in carpet production by as much as 95% versus traditional manufacturing processes.

As a further benefit, using DSM’s mono-material polyester adhesive as the mid-layer enables the polyamide/polyester carpet to meet the most stringent flame retardancy standard without the need for any additives, while improving on the smoke development performance compared to traditional carpet.

“Niaga® is delivering on its promise made in 2014 to enable the carpet industry to close the materials loop. We have expanded the Niaga® technology with a substantial amount of new patents based on the results of last year’s developments,” comments Chris Reutelingsperger, CTO DSM-Niaga.

Norbert van der Nap, Chief Commercial Officer DSM-Niaga: “The introduction of the Niaga® technology in our Tech Center in Zwolle (the Netherlands) means we can help the carpet industry to realize its goal of fully recyclable carpets with sustainable benefits.”

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DSM-Niaga

DSM-Niaga is a joint venture, established in 2014, between DSM, the global Life Sciences and Material Sciences company, and Niaga, the Netherlands-based provider of sustainable solutions for the carpet industry. The company is focusing on innovative sustainable solutions for soft flooring replacement without compromising on carpet quality and appearance, addressing health (indoor air-quality) concerns, and allowing simplification of and easy integration into existing carpet manufacture systems. DSM-Niaga has a technical center and production facility in Zwolle, the Netherlands.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to DSM’s future (financial) performance and position. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections of DSM and information currently available to the company. DSM cautions readers that such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and therefore it should be understood that many factors can cause actual performance and position to differ materially from these statements. DSM has no obligation to update the statements contained this press release, unless required by law.